A year of Single Minded Valentines!

Single-minded love for a year.

I love Valentines Day. And who deserves well-crafted, witty, love tokens more than single parents?

Plus, when I make valentines, and think about who I love, and why I adore  them, and what they have endured or invented or written, I feel better.  I feel proud and excited that we are in the same world. And, in some strange way, I feel more loved, more celebrated.

Boomerang goodwill.

OK. Forgive me. We are wading in a swampy schlock fest. 

Sometimes, joy is so utterly dull. 

And that's not why I am doing this. 

I am sending out these valentines because it is a survival technique.  Did you hear me?

These valentines, yours and mine, will help you stay alive and stay sane.

It's a way to feed yourself when there is nothing left in your spiritual and mental frig.

Making valentines is like eating all local produce and grass-fed beef cooked by Thomas Keller. (He’s on my valentine list) .

So. Here’s the plan:

I am going to commit to a year of Valentines.

Hopefully this will prompt you to think about your valentines

And, yes, it is seven days beyond February 14. I am starting today. I am a tad late.

Because, listen:

When you work at the Single Parent Company, you don’t give up. You do not beat yourself senseless when you can’t quite pull your act together for the EXACT start day that you had planned.( Case in point, 2/14/11)

At SPC surprising things come up that must be dealt with. We are short-staffed.  Surprise! Our lovely little cherubs are up at 4:45am because 

(a) they are just too excited about the lego X-wing that they built the night before; 

(b) they are learning to walk/talk/climb/swim/read and/or they need to know what 40 and 11 make; 

(c) they are nervous about the sleepover at the other parent’s this weekend where the much older neighbor has been teasing them;

(d)they have to know if male and female humpback whales sing the same songs; 

(e) they are coughing like a barking seal, with fever and runny green-snot nose; 

(f) they had a nightmare that Darth Vador is coming through their mattress and even when you get them laughing by picturing Darth Vador doing the dishes, they will not go back to sleep. And, of course, neither will you. That means the rest of the day will feel like you are underwater. Or in the first scene of “The Hangover” and the only way to find your keys is to pray, sing an Eric Bibb song quietly to yourself, and try not to cry.

Thus, we start our year of Single-minded Valentines today! 2/20/11. Actually, the numbers “2/20/11” have a lucky ring to them, don't they?

 I declare February 20^th Single Valentines Day!

Here is my (part of) my list of people/places/ideas I will send a valentine to:

-The San Francisco Symphony and their family program; John Williams and George Lucas and my dearest boy, K.

-To all of the hard working(and sleep-deprived) parents and to their kids.

-My son, K(he will probably get more than one)

-Julia Child

-Alex Prud’homme

-Eric Bibb

-The film-makers of “The Fighter” and “The King’s Speech”

-Dan Savage and the "It Gets Better Project"

-Point Reyes

-Earnest Shackleton

-Preschool Teachers and specifically, K’s teachers at school

-Wild Salmon both those that make it home to spawn and those that die trying.

-The cast and crew of Friday Night Lights

-Michael Cunningham( author of “By Nightfall” and “the Hours”)

-President Obama

-Charming Girl and her coterie

-Thomas Keller

-Giotto

-Grumpy pirates, real and imagined

-Tina Fey

-Martin Luther King Jr

-Emma Thompson

-Jane Austen…of course.

Stay tuned.   Tomorrow in Single Minded Valentine #1 we elucidate why the Star Wars music made me sob with joy.

Now it's your turn: Who is on your Valentine List?

À Demain et à vos amours!